"The Only Thing That Is Constant Is Change." That's a famous quote by the pre-Socratic Greek philosopher Heraclitus. Nobody knew it at the time, but he had been sent back from the future and was actually making a snarky comment about Google's approach to design. It was only about two years ago when every app was adding FABs (floating action buttons) regardless of how much or little they made sense, and now we're saying an abrupt goodbye to the one in Android Messages as it vanishes with the latest update. Alongside that simple change, a teardown also turns up signs that the app will soon provide shortcuts to launch video calls, exchange money with contacts, and read QR codes.

What's New

Unofficial Changelog: (the stuff we found)

New conversation FAB has moved to the title bar

Going FAB-less

Left: v2.4. Right: v2.5.

The next time you want to start a new conversation in Android Messages, you'll have to stretch your finger all the way to the top of the screen. With version 2.5, the New Conversation button has been relocated from a FAB at the lower right corner to a spot nearer the center of the title bar at the top. Aside from location, nothing else has changed about the button. If something feels out of place when you're next using Messages, this is why.

Update: Some people still have a FAB after updating, so this is either a rollout situation or A/B testing. Either way, it only happens on v2.5. I suspect this change will be rolling out to everybody soon enough.

Teardown

Disclaimer: Teardowns are based on evidence found inside of apks (Android's application package) and are necessarily speculative and usually based on incomplete information. It's possible that the guesses made here are totally and completely wrong. Even when predictions are correct, there is always a chance that plans could change or may be canceled entirely. Much like rumors, nothing is certain until it's officially announced and released.

The features discussed below are probably not live yet, or may only be live for a small percentage of users. Unless stated otherwise, don't expect to see these features if you install the apk.

Sending and receiving money

There are a few decent ways of sending a few bucks to somebody over the Internet. Gmail began supporting this back in 2013, and we now know that the same thing will be possible with Assistant soon. You can also look to Google Wallet, which can send or request money over SMS or email. Judging by a few new lines, Android Messages will be joining the list soon enough.

I've got a hunch this will be using Google Wallet in the background, but it may even just be a shortcut to launch the Google Wallet app.

Hey, maybe with these options in a more visible place, it'll be harder for your friends to avoid paying you back for that time you covered a drink or got dinner when they "forgot their cash."

Video calls

We just saw an update to the Google Phone app with clear signs that it would soon provide shortcuts to quickly launch a video call with Duo, and now a fairly good clue is also written into the Android Messages app. The evidence is extremely thin at just a single line, but with the words, "make a video call," there's not much room to misinterpret it.

<string name="action_video_call">Make a video call</string>

QR Codes

QR codes aren't exactly printed on everything like we once thought they might be, but they are still pretty common. It seems the Android Messages app will be getting a QR scanner in the near future. There's no text to clearly state what it will be used for, but the fairly likely answer is that you'll be able to scan a code and send the results to somebody via message.

Tips for iMessage refugees

Finally, just because it's funny (in the sad way), here's a reminder that people are still plagued with missing text messages six years after iMessage was announced. There's a new message that gives users a hint that they will have to turn off iMessage if they want to receive text messages from iPhone users again.

strings

<string name="conversation_list_imessage_banner_title">Missing text messages?</string>
<string name="conversation_list_imessage_banner_subtitle">To receive SMS messages from iPhone users, you'll need to turn off iMessage on your old phone. You can still use iMessage on other devices, like an iPad.</string>
<string name="conversation_list_dismiss_toast">Learn how to turn off iMessage at any time in “Help &amp; feedback“</string>

Download

The APK is signed by Google and upgrades your existing app. The cryptographic signature guarantees that the file is safe to install and was not tampered with in any way. Rather than wait for Google to push this download to your devices, which can take days, download and install it just like any other APK.

Good thing Google kept Duo separate from Allo, I'm liking how it is getting integrated into the phone, messages and contacts apps. Hoping they change the icon so it matches those apps soon too.

Nuno G.

WTF google?!?! I want FAB back!!!
Stupid decision!!!

Kokoblin

The guy who decided this must be fired. The FAB is used for the primary action of an app (aka in a SMS app, creating a new SMS/RCS) now it's like it'x not important at all, andd in addition to this stuped change it CAN'T be reached easily on 5''+ screens

There's a strong argument for the primary action being opening a thread rather than starting a new one. I'd bet that analytics were showing that most people were hitting it accidentally or very rarely using it.

I've also been thinking about this. Most of the conversations you need are already there in the app (unless you just set up the phone for the first time). Among new conversations, half of them are probably started by the other person. For the remaining conversations that you start, most of them are probably starting from either your contacts app or your phone app. At the end, the odds of actually starting a conversation from the Messages app are probably very low for most people. The only exception I can think of is group messaging, and even that's not going to be very common.

makapav

The list of people that need to publicly shamed/fired grows longer by the day. Google must have started hiring from the bottom of the barrel for some of these guys to be so dumb that they need an A/B testing.

Grahaman27

hmm. I never liked the FAB. It obstructs part of the screen and looks stupid. I'm all for its removal, its the worst part of material design.

fijisiv

Plus all the other elements were at the top of the screen... menu, search (in other apps you can add settings, refresh, share, filter, etc. to that list) and this ONE element was in the least obvious spot possible (Google "f-pattern"). When Google first rolled out Material Design, the FAB hiding in the corner was the most frustrating thing. Eventually I learned to scan the top, then the lower corners to find active interface components instead of scanning the entire damn screen. Good riddance stupid hiding FAB.

Weird, I tested on a few devices and 3 other people on the AP team updated and saw no FAB. We usually get at least one exception if this is a rollout situation. I'll mention it in the post.

Pete

Note that the version your article links to is 2.5.203. I'm on 2.5.207 and the button is definitely there, so maybe it was missed / forgotten / overlooked in 2.5.203 and that's why there have been about three versions pushed this week.

Nope, that's not it. Turns out that I just linked the wrong one at the bottom of the post because that's the link I had handy. I was still testing on .207, so this is definitely a rollout or a/b testing.

Steven

It's gone for me on 207. I sent feedback. What a strange thing to change. I can barely reach the top of the screen on my phone. I can't imagine how obnoxious it must be on those super tall screens that are all the rage these days.

Still there for me on Pixel XL.... PPI dependent? Or a weird rollout like you said? Regional?

Suicide_Note

Same version of Messages on my XL, and the FAB is gone.

The Swami

my N6 has had it gone for a few days since I noticed it missing, was/is still on 2.5.203. Updating now to Android Messages 2.5.207. Still gone. sadness. I miss the FAB.

Tim Massing

2.5.206 on Pixel Xl and FAB is there.

Hypnotoad

What if the QR code scanner is for an Allo-like web app for sending text messages from your computer!?

c_topher_v

I heard a while back Google was working on bringing text to the web/chormebooks. I am hoping this will use the same functionality as Allo for purpose.

senor_heisenberg

Well that's worse since it's all the way in the top right.

ast00

Worse.

Good_Ole_Pinocchio

Sounds good to me. Especially removing that useless new conversations button. How often are people even starting a new text message conversation with a brand new person? Good change.

And good adding DUO as well. Switched to Pulse for a while...now I'm back.

n00b

Switched to Textra for a while...now I stay with it.

zelendel

I do it all the time as I start with a clear inbox every morning. I mean really who holds on to texts longer then the few sec it takes to read it...well besides maybe a stalker or something lol

Good_Ole_Pinocchio

That's strange...so you delete all your text messages every day? But why?

zelendel

Because they are no longer needed and the larger the sms database file gets the slower the app becomes. I dont have to delete them. The app is set to do it for me.

Chandan Kumar

Do you not think Sending and receiving money could also use Tez, since Tez uses UPI which support both of those actions?

Rodrigo Souza

This is ridiculous! I find FAB the most useful item in the Material Design. It is a huge and beautiful thing.

Very sad to see the Material Design dying slowly and Android losing its visual identity.

elko

It didn't have visual identity before it and it can't after it? lol

Material design is just one design. Even Google didn't follow it well.

abqnm

It's useful in many applications, and I love the FAB in general, but the new message FAB was the least used thing in the app for me, and I am glad to see it go.

Most people I'm messaging are already in my message list so I have no need to start a new message. And the few times I do, it's usually with an intent from another app, so it's still not using the FAB.

So I'm for this less cluttered approach.

After all, maybe the FAB will return as a video call button or something else.

Material is far from dying. It's an incredibly strong design system and as such, it must continue to evolve and change. Design is iterative and nothing is ever perfect. If it was stuck in the mud and staying exactly as it was when launched, that would be a problem.

zelendel

Material Design doesnt mean anything really. not only does Google not even follow it but some of the best and most popular apps on the market have built in themes that do away with material design. I know many that will not even download an app if it doesnt have a dark non MD option.

Material Design is a set of guidelines, not inalterable design laws. I'm a UX Designer, I love Material, it's a really strong foundation of visual design and interaction design concepts. But there have been plenty of times when I've tweaked it and "broken" the guidelines because I've found a way to do something that's more intuitive for the user base of the products I design.

The same is true for designers at Google. That's what's happening when they roll things out that go against Material. Material doesn't need to be the exact current state of what Google happens to be testing and Google doesn't need to hold themselves to the exact guidelines of Material.

As I said, design systems need to evolve because no design is ever going to be perfect, let alone remain perfect without change.

zelendel

Either way if you look into it, MD is not really liked at all and people do everything they can to get rid of it. The whole thing is about as ugly as it gets. Reminds me of my early childhood development classes on how to keep a baby attention focused. You use bright colors and big shapes.

Marcelo

Are you trying to grab attention from a Google's recruiter or you already work there and your boss are forcing you to write that?

I'm a fan of design systems in general. AirBnB's, Apple's Human Interface Guidelines, Microsoft's Fluent Design, and yes Material Design. Building systems like this is no easy task, and it's fascinating to me as a designer to see different approaches to them.

I'm a UX Designer. This is tied in with my day to day work, tied in with the research I do and the the user testing I carry out. It's fascinating stuff to me. I can assure you that my opinions and comments are my own.

Zorak✓ᵛᵉʳᶦᶠᶦᵉᵈ ᵉᵛᶦˡ

Are you trying to grab attention of a A̶p̶p̶l̶e, M̶i̶c̶r̶o̶s̶o̶f̶t Cyanogen Inc. recruiter or you already work there and your boss are forcing you to write that? Oh wait..

Jokes apart his assertion was entirely objective and coherent in contrast to your mindless little rant. If you hate Google so much and you so despise their vile practices of hiring developers to do their PR on random discussion boards what are you doing on a tech blog for primarily Google products?

mlm5em

FAB or not, can't the commonly used controls be placed on the lower half of the screen? Just like the new bottom-mounted Chrome nav bar.

Jas Kapadia

Don't mind me asking, but how are you getting the bottom-mounted Chrome nav bar? Is it through a certain Chrome version/channel/flag? Or is it just being server-side tested atm. I think it looks and works great.

morteum

I want to be upset about this because I prefer the FAB, but honestly I rarely use it in Android Messages. Most of my conversations are found within the list. I'd imagine Google knows the FAB isn't used a ton for most people.

Bruce

Can't think of a worse thing in Material Design than FAB. It overlays part of the screen making me have to scroll around just to see what's under it. It's useless for the most part except when I want to initiate the action and I can just as easily do that through tapping an icon on the Action Bar. If it's going away, terrific!

King_Android

If your eyes aren't trained to look up there you could miss that little plus sign. The old way was much better while still being out of your way.

And anyone making a decisions at HQ can't just opt for any direction... He/She is obliged to throw a dice to see which direction he/she must follow.

F4

If all else fails, send out as many A/B testing to the users and confuse the hell out of them.

ddevito

What's better than 4 Google Messaging apps?

3 Google video apps!

Kawshik Ahmed

It looks like both the Phone and Messages app will send you to Duo to do Video call. It is not a separate feature.

makapav

> It is not a separate feature
Don't hold your breath.

HSidhu

4th is coming soon... You won't be surprised.

Lunkman

I will miss the FAB, but generally speaking this app is great. I can send messages to ANYONE- whether they use it or not. Group texts go out to iMessage and Android users and I don't see a difference, nor should I. I realize it doesn't have desktop support, but selfishly l don't need it- so it's perfect for me- I don't think it's missing anything- well aside from the soon to missing FAB!

matteventu

"this app is great. I can send messages to ANYONE- whether they use it or not. "

Are you freaking kidding me? It's an SMS client.

Lunkman

Nope. Not kidding. I don't have to ask anyone to download ANYTHING SPECIFIC (see Allo) to receive my messages. I can't be bothered to worry about the technology behind it. I send it, they receive- that is all I am looking for. I don't care how it gets there, nor should I. No one has ever said "never got your message". And I receive all messages from the people I communicate with- again whether they have an iPhone or Android- and I don't have to get involved with what App they use. Not sure why you'd think I would be "freaking kidding"...it just works.

matteventu

They're called "SMS" my friend.

They "just work" like this since 1993.

Lunkman

Awesome, Bro- thanks for the history lesson. Not sure what your point has been. I said it works for me, and pointed out why I prefer this to Allo- and I think my reason for comparing the two is obvious. Again, your participation in this conversation- not so obvious...

deepdvd

1) You actually never compared the two (SMS and Allo) in your first comment.

2) Any SMS app works this way, so saying "this app is great" is a little like saying "this 'generic food item' gives me energy." Also, SMS is lacking in many areas, which you don't really address.

3) I understand and agree with you on not having to ask someone to download an app just to communicate. I use Hangouts on Project Fi which has that same benefit because of its ability to send SMS. The added benefit of Fi means I have desktop support for phone calls and SMS, which I believe is the best feature.

Lunkman

I said it's not missing anything for me- so why would I address anything SMS lacks? Oh yeah, I wouldn't. Nice to see that the Internet Police visit Android Police....

That placement is moronic. It's extremely hard to reach, and sending a friggin' message is, like, the point of an SMS app.

pfmiller

It is the point of a messaging app, OTOH I can't remember the last time I started a new conversation instead of continuing an existing one.

Flint_PS

Well, I tend to delete my messages, so I usually do. YMMV. That's the point - we're different.

Grey

FABs are stupid when there's controls elsewhere on the screen. I could never find the "New Text" option because my eyes look at the top right.

Tim Massing

Also not sure if this is just me, but it brought back the Android wear app.

Matthew Presley

Here's to hoping the QR code is for setting up sms mirroring on other devices.

mike shwilly

Nonsense

qak

Has anyone else had any problems with Messages since an update yesterday? I don't get text notifications for most people anymore, and I know I haven't changed anything. Out of 6 people who I've been texting in the last 24 hours, I've only gotten notifications from 2. Having to open the app to check if I've gotten texts is a hassle I don't want.
I'm using Pixel XL

killervirgo

I am having the same issue. I couldn't figure out why until I realized that my app was updated yesterday. It works fine when receiving a message from google voice, but any other person who texts me, I am not getting a notification.

I am using a Nexus 6P.

qak

I set the Messages app back to factory settings today and it's worked fine since.

killervirgo

if you do that, you lose all of your messages, correct?

tth267

This is probably a dumb question, but how do I reset the app to factory settings? I'm having this same issue with an LG G6 and it is driving me nuts.

Bearing in mind that video calls are part of the RCS spec and Android Messages is an RCS client - video calls might not necessarily be Duo calls - it will be really confusing if it launches a Duo call now and then later the same button launches a native RCS video call....

humulos

Look, I would be fine with the FAB going away if it weren't for the fact that Google's own apps aren't consistent with one another. I know they are different teams, but come on, please make the designs go through one centralized team for edits before pushing these things out

caerestapermitido

They really hate their own design

Christopher Bement

Putting shit at the top of the screen is going out of style in my mind with screen tallness increasing every generation. I'd like the old tablet mode back where notifications shared the bar with the nav bar. Sigh.

WORPspeed

Duo integration or GTFO!

If this videocall thing is another video call service than Google can just F right off!

Andy

What's fab?

Hayden7200

I've updated to 2.5.207 and the FAB is still there for me. Any idea why?

Casper

I'm not sure if it's just me or not, but I had to delete this app because I wasnt receiving all of my text messages. I switched over to: message+ and a whole bunch of texts showed up I've never received before. Maybe Google should fix the basic function of the text messaging app...

Nate Harris

Yeah, let's strip the FAB from one of the few apps that actually uses the element correctly.

"Hey, maybe with these options in a more visible place, it'll be harder for your friends to avoid paying you back for that time you covered a drink or got dinner when they "forgot their cash.""

Just yesterday, my friends and I went to try a new Vietnamese place (nestled right between all the other Vietnamese restaurants we'd already tried). Upon arrival, we found out it was cash only, and me and one other guy both don't carry cash. My mind immediately jumped to the possibilities of either: a) go withdraw some cash quickly, or b) just have one person pay for everything and let the others pay him back via Google Wallet.

The other guy was basically just "screw that, let's go to this Chinese place across from it instead."

Well, it worked out. I wasn't really in the mood for Vietnamese anyway.